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To: arun gera who wrote (233805)	12/20/2009 1:58:05 PM
From: Skeeter Bug	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 306849

>>I think there are lot of questions. Did the bankers decide to rebuild Germany and Japan or the generals like Marshall had something to do with that decision?<< who financed the destruction? hmmmmm... >>Did the bankers take South Korea to a first world status? Did the bankers work out oil and military pact with Saudi Arabia in 1930s? Did the bankers encourage agricultural Taiwan to become an exporter of industrial goods from 1950s to now? I think geopolitics was a bigger factor than the interests of banking cartel.<< they obviously don't control every little action made by every nation or rogue nations... but they do get a $24 trillion back stop with a few days of facing collapse. you could say that, like any good crime syndicate, they major in the majors and don't worry about the minors. in addition - banksters = billions in bonuses... the rest of us, 22% plus unemployment and underemployment and nearly 40 million people on food stamps. >>Could it be that bankers are mere servants who have now been shown that they are not masters of the universe any more?<< that's absurd! follow the money... big money center banks... +$24 trillion. everyone else... -$24 trillion. >>It could be that real masters (is it all of us?)still need the servants?<< we need a banking system... WE DO NOT NEED THIS CORRUPT (DEBT BACKED MONEY) SYSTEM. the distinction is not trivial.

To: arun gera who wrote (233805)	12/21/2009 12:02:10 AM
From: Skeeter Bug	Respond to of 306849

arun, citi did a secondary to raise money BEFORE the government sold its shares. again - citi got to raise and keep more money and the tax payers suffered a big fat loss... big money center bank gets billions... tax payers lose billions... again... geithner isn't stupid... he works for the banks! ps - citi was given a #38 billion tax credit, too. citi: +$38 billion tax payers: -$38 billion all brought to you by our corporate sponsored politicians and their appointees! ----------------------------- Earlier this week, when Citi announced its plan to repay TARP, we characterized it as a mixed blessing and noted that we were disappointed that the plan began with capital raising to repay the TARP preferreds and ended with the sale of government shares rather than the other way around. In retrospect, we had no idea of our gift for understatement. We believe that there would have been plenty of demand for government shares at over $4 per share because it would been a clear step toward a normal ownership structure. Instead, by forcing the sale of common while still having the overhang of the government, their shareholders, most prominently including the American taxpayer, have been needlessly diluted. Citigroup announced Wednesday evening that its offering to repay TARP was priced at $3.15 per share, 20% below last Friday's close. As a result, the government did not sell any of its shares, obviously not wanting to show a loss versus its $3.25 cost basis. Bullet As a result, the taxpayers' 7.7 billion share stake in Citi has been diluted from about 33% of the company to about 26% without a single dollar being raised for Treasury. Value has been permanently lost because the dilution is permanent. Bullet We estimate that between August and November, some 37.9 billion shares of C traded hands at or above $4/share. There was ample opportunity to sell most if not all of the UST common at a gain, which is the most troubling aspect of Citi's relationship with the government for private sector providers of capital. Bullet Instead, Citi's private shareholders continue to live with a large government stake. As long as that stake persists, we believe there will be a cloud over Citi stock as shareholders will fear that the company will be run more on Washington logic than on business logic. Bullet We believe Citi will end up with about 30B shares and a tangible book value of just under $4 per share. We believe that the stock can trade back toward tangible book, but we do not see it earning a premium until the government stake has been sold. He is giving Gordon Brown who sold billions of UK gold at $275 a run for the title of finance moron.